It seems like not to long ago film makers were at least allowed time to work on there films to get the best out of what they have filmed. but like the games industry there now appears to be people looking over there shoulders tapping on their watches not concerned about the quality of the film but the but more the budget and time frame. Mathieu Kassovitz has stated that he is very unhappy about the film coming out in its current format, lets at least hope that they give him time to sort out the picture as a directors cut, as dont forget, Ridley Scott was unhappy with his first take of Blade Runner. by the sound of it, the picture being shown and the picture it could have been are two different things completely

I cant belive Kassovitz has said this the week the film comes out lol. I mean fair play to him but if he were that pissed off could he not have taken his name off? The dude is going to have a hard time getting work after this I would imagine. I look forward to hopefully 1 day seeing this longer cut

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You just got killed by a Daewoo Lamos motherfucker - Best line of 2008

Cinerama - News, reviews, features and listener feedback every week by your Empire Online friend badassmofo! (I sound like a non-badassmofo I know...) On iTunes or cinerama.jellycast.com

... a certain up-and-coming action star, "who looked like he was all-about the pussy", was in fact gay. Kevin didn't say who it was, but I think we can guess. I've heard an interview with Vin and he's a very intelligent and likeable guy, but a gay action star is gonna be a tough sell. He shold come out, I think his career would get a boost like George Michael's did. Of course, if I'm wrong about all this then excuse me all over the place.

... a certain up-and-coming action star, "who looked like he was all-about the pussy", was in fact gay. Kevin didn't say who it was, but I think we can guess. I've heard an interview with Vin and he's a very intelligent and likeable guy, but a gay action star is gonna be a tough sell. He shold come out, I think his career would get a boost like George Michael's did. Of course, if I'm wrong about all this then excuse me all over the place.

... a certain up-and-coming action star, "who looked like he was all-about the pussy", was in fact gay. Kevin didn't say who it was, but I think we can guess. I've heard an interview with Vin and he's a very intelligent and likeable guy, but a gay action star is gonna be a tough sell. He shold come out, I think his career would get a boost like George Michael's did. Of course, if I'm wrong about all this then excuse me all over the place.

His long term girlfreind has recently given birth to his first child. Vin Diesel likes to keep his private life seperate from his personal and always has done so throughout his career. This doesn't mean he has something to hide.

After reading about Fox taking editing control of the film away from the director and negative reviews - I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the film. Sure, the ending is a bit dull and it is clear that Fox cut out some "talking scenes" out but Vin Disel & Michelle Yeoh were on great form. Mathieu is a very dull director but the soundtrack makes the film more epic & exciting. Hope to see "Director's Cut" on Blu Ray next year.

I was thinking of doing a double bill with this and The Strangers. While I don't have high hopes for it I am a sucker for this kind of distopia film, and sue me I like Vin.

I am planning on seeing one in the morning and therefore getting a half price ticket. So depending on how people enjoyed/hated this I can decide which one deserves my spending of a full ticket (I suspect the Strangers)

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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

I was thinking of doing a double bill with this and The Strangers. While I don't have high hopes for it I am a sucker for this kind of distopia film, and sue me I like Vin.

I'm the same, reviews have put me off a bit but I really want Vin to become a huge action star and as you said I like dystopias. I'll probs check it out anyway, and hold out for Fast and Furious for Vin to return to form.

I was thinking of doing a double bill with this and The Strangers. While I don't have high hopes for it I am a sucker for this kind of distopia film, and sue me I like Vin.

I'm the same, reviews have put me off a bit but I really want Vin to become a huge action star and as you said I like dystopias. I'll probs check it out anyway, and hold out for Fast and Furious for Vin to return to form.

I have only ever seen 2 Fast 2 Furious but the trailer for number 4 sold me. It was like one big tribute to George Miller.

I actully did my univeristy disertation on utopias/dystopias on film so there is also an academic excuse for me...ahem...

Who am I kidding? I like sci-fi, and even if it isn't very good I will take what I can get.

I find it interesting that Children of Men is cited as an influence on this film - maybe we are going to see a move away from the usually Blade Runner future and downgrade into a future that feels like it could just be round the cornor.

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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

Bit of a mess this one. In all honesty it's not that bad up until the last 15 minutes, it zips along well enough and there's a nice little dynamic developing between Diesel, Yeoh and Thierry by that point. Then Lambert Wilson shows up to lay an explanation on us and the whole thing derails.

I think I know what the film was about, something to do with A.I enhanced babies (don't ask), genetically engineered messiahs and religous nutjobs yeah? That said, despite being mentioned briefly, none of these plot points are ever really properly explained.

It all climaxes in a sequence that's just as equally baffling, I'm not even sure what happened to the Aurora character, it's implied she's rather poorly before giving birth and that she subsequantly snuffs it, but no explanation is given as to why? Actually scratch that, I'm not even sure she dies now? Also what of the nutty high priestest woman that was persuing them, did she just give up after the last of her henchman were roasted by Diesel? Honestly I haven't a fucking clue.

Conclusion:

Not all that bad until the climax at which point it nosedives faster that Diesel's once promising career.

Bit of a mess this one. In all honesty it's not that bad up until the last 15 minutes, it zips along well enough and there's a nice little dynamic developing between Diesel, Yeoh and Thierry by that point. Then Lambert Wilson shows up to lay an explanation on us and the whole thing derails.

I think I know what the film was about, something to do with A.I enhanced babies (don't ask), genetically engineered messiahs and religous nutjobs yeah? That said, despite being mentioned briefly, none of these plot points are ever really properly explained.

It all climaxes in a sequence that's just as equally baffling, I'm not even sure what happened to the Aurora character, it's implied she's rather poorly before giving birth and that she subsequantly snuffs it, but no explanation is given as to why? Actually scratch that, I'm not even sure she dies now? Also what of the nutty high priestest woman that was persuing them, did she just give up after the last of her henchman were roasted by Diesel? Honestly I haven't a fucking clue.

Conclusion:

Not all that bad until the climax at which point it nosedives faster that Diesel's once promising career.

2/5

Just watched it, I enjoyed it until as paulyboy it nose dives at the end. I didn't have trouble following the idea but it is poorly explained in the film. as too why she dies, wtf? genetically engineered and she can't even give birth without dying, a bit backwards that also why are the kids different ethnicities? And whathappened to the high priestess? did she just give up on 20 years work?

According to german site Schnittberichte.com Germany will get a longer cut of the film. That is because over here the film is not distributed by FOX but by a smaller label called Concorde which bought the rights from the French distributor instead of FOX.

quite the worst film ive seen this year even jumpers was better than this its very similar to children of men witha little golden child and fifth element even. the film and theb ending are so hpelessly in coherent and muddled what does happen at the endthe studio has edited the guts out of the movie to get low cert would directors cut make any difference only if it explained characters fates 1 star sorry

I actually enjoyed the first half of this - the bleak Russian society, the obvious aftermath of war and the unknown element of the mission. Then they got to New York and it lost me -I have no idea what the Hell was going on ... shame

Bit of a mess this one. In all honesty it's not that bad up until the last 15 minutes, it zips along well enough and there's a nice little dynamic developing between Diesel, Yeoh and Thierry by that point. Then Lambert Wilson shows up to lay an explanation on us and the whole thing derails.

I think I know what the film was about, something to do with A.I enhanced babies (don't ask), genetically engineered messiahs and religous nutjobs yeah? That said, despite being mentioned briefly, none of these plot points are ever really properly explained.

It all climaxes in a sequence that's just as equally baffling, I'm not even sure what happened to the Aurora character, it's implied she's rather poorly before giving birth and that she subsequantly snuffs it, but no explanation is given as to why? Actually scratch that, I'm not even sure she dies now? Also what of the nutty high priestest woman that was persuing them, did she just give up after the last of her henchman were roasted by Diesel? Honestly I haven't a fucking clue.

Conclusion:

Not all that bad until the climax at which point it nosedives faster that Diesel's once promising career.

2/5

Just watched it, I enjoyed it until as paulyboy it nose dives at the end. I didn't have trouble following the idea but it is poorly explained in the film. as too why she dies, wtf? genetically engineered and she can't even give birth without dying, a bit backwards that also why are the kids different ethnicities? And whathappened to the high priestess? did she just give up on 20 years work?

What the fuck did the last line mean, "There's a storm coming."? Was that literal, or did he mean that High Priestess was coming back for them (some 4 or 5 years after he escaped)? Was that setting up a sequel? Also, Vin and Auraura obviously had a bit of a thing and from the time they escape to the time she's about to give birth is at least 7 or 8 months (depending on how far along she was at the start), so in all that time he never said her name once? Pah!

I did kinda enjoy this film up until they got to New York and then it just all unravelled and became silly. Shame really as it could have been quite a good action sci-fi.

This was basically largely bollocks, looked low budget with pretty average action and a rubbish plot about some girl with weird powers, however it still kept me interested and I didn't find myself getting bored with it particularly. For that reason I'll give it three stars

Good to see Vin Diesel back in an action role as well - I'm also looking forward to The Fast and the Furious 4

The title really does say it all. Science-fiction fans will enjoy the brilliant premise of the movie (even thought it somewhat borrows from Twelve Monkeys), but the keyword hereis 'movie'. Babylon A.D. does not manage to be considered a film as it just isn't done right: mediocre acting, messy directing and I-need-the-money writing. Shame.

Just wanted to post up some thoughts on this underrated gem. Yes, the movie has problems, but thematically I think it's brilliant. From the opening shot, I found it gripping. We see the derelict Hubble floating in space, and even though North America's electric power grid is lit up like a Christmas tree, there are no high orbit satellites (the kind used for space exploration and interstellar photography). The camera zooms in and as we near the planet it passes through a cloud of low orbit telecommunications satellites. To me this effortlessly gpt across a key fact about the future: Humanity had narrowed it's focus and priorities. We'd stopped looking to new worlds and had instead turned inward. The directors cut features different opening narration that I think is quite powerfully delivered by Mr Diesel.

quote:

Save the planet. Whenever I've read that bumper sticker I've had to laugh. Save the planet. What for? And from what, ourselves? What about God, can He help us? I don't think so. God gave us what we have to see how we use it. Shit, rats in a cage would have done it better. Life's a bitch and then you die - bumper sticker philosophy. Yeah, right. Sometimes, you get a second chance.

The theatrical narration which most people experienced omits everything about God and the 'rats in a cage' metaphor, and I think it fundamentally alters the movie

The world Toorop (OK, that name isn't great) inhabits is a frightening one -- frightening because of it's plausibility. Not since CHILDREN OF MEN has a dystopian future felt so real. From the news reports (glimpsed on Toorop's grimy table top tablet computer) we learn terrorism is a frequent occurrence, and the ravages of climate change have hardened people.

Governments seem either unimportant or virtually non existent, and everyone without a Swiss bank account or citizenship in a first world country is scrambling to survive. America is spoken about in hushed tones, an impenetrable fortress nation that's shut down it's borders. Toorop is American, but he's living in exile after having been placed on a terrorist watch list (having served as a 'private contractor' who carried out atrocities for the US government, it's implied). I think his journey is absolutely thrilling, and tautly paced. The music is propulsive and awe inspiring.

Everything about the world of BABYLON AD feels like the present reflected back at us in a harsher light, showing the desperation and hardship around the corner if we continue down this path. The train station bombing sequence speaks volumes about the world of tomorrow: a bomb goes off, killing hundreds.. but no time is spent mourning or in shock; Toorop has to press on before the other dazed survivors can dust themselves off; it's a desperate scramble in order to secure his seat on the train.

We see second generation cloned tigers, "copies of copies", being sold on the black market. The species long since went extinct, and it's implied that even the copies won't be around much longer. You can't keep photocopying a xerox of a DNA strand endlessly.

We see a shot of the train as it arrives at Vladivostok refugee camp, and the tracks have been constructed right over the giant crater left by a blown nuclear reactor. The rest of the plant is still operational, and the tracks have simply been placed over the site of the disaster. In the future, if a Chernobyl happens people no longer have the resources to abandon the site, they have to work around it. That's chilling in a post BP oil spill America.

In order to cross the Bering Straight, the only way left to sneak into the US, Toorop and others make use of a Russian military sub that's contracted itself out for refugee smuggling. In the future, the Russian government is clearly poor enough that the captains of it's nuclear subs use their positions to make a quick buck. The concerns of the "motherland" seem to have been forgotten; everyone is now only looking out for themselves.

BABYLON AD depicts a world that's ceased to advance. There is hardly any "futuristic" technology. Cars still burn gas. Smoke stacks still churn out pollution. My favorite moment of the film perfectly encapsulates this idea: after having safely arrived in Canada, Toorop, Michelle Yeow and Annoying French Person are on board a jetliner headed for New York. What does America look like in this future world? What wonders has the future brought? The camera pull back from the jet, revealing that it's branded with a giant Coca Cola logo, and it's engines are pumping out exhaust fumes. Michelle Yeoh peeks out the window, with a look of near religious awe on her face as she takes in NYC:

It turns out that America has devolved into an apocalyptic electric hell glittering under a carbon monoxide sky.

It's hard to get the full impact of the scene just from these screen shots, but the music which had been building, the chorus rising, reaches a deafening crescendo as New York City - population 22 million - is revealed. It is a stupefying neon nightmare. It's BLADE RUNNER on meth. You can't see it in the still photo, but looking at the NYC of the future is like staring into a strobe light. The sky is blanketed in a choking smog. The fumes are pulsing and flashing as holograms sky write corporate logos onto the underbelly of the noxious clouds. Every building glimmers with shifting, twisting ads. Every surface is licensed and used to bombard the wealthy citizens of the first world with advertizements for luxury goods and creature comforts: Coke, Cellphones, Bottled Water. It's the big apple after Times Square metastasized. Whatever charm the city had has been utterly obliterated, to be replaced with an opressive dystopia where cult leaders project their images on 100 story sky scrapers. It's a not entirely unlikely vision of the future, and the reveal of the city is a powerfully emotional moment in the film.

To get back to the cult for a moment; the other brilliant thing about the movie is the villain's nefarious plot. They're scientologists, essentially, who have spent the past 20 years and billions of dollars genetically engineering an artificial miracle. They plan to dupe the desperate masses and earn their place as a bona fide religion. To me, that's a horrific notion. They're running their faith like a corporation, and their test tube Virgin Mary is treated like the launch of a new product. Their stated goal (we get to eavesdrop on a meeting of the Church leadership)? Profit.

Late in the third act, the french scientist guy explains the point of the film: humanity has ceased to evolve. In the past 100 years, our tech has advanced far more than our civilization. That has to change if we're to have a future.

Now, sure, the movie drops the ball all over the place. Fox held Mathieu Kassovitz hostage during every stage of production and Mr. Roths slimy finger prints are all over the finished product. With that said, the detailed world building on display in the movie, and the ideas it attempts to grapple with, make it an worthy and noble undertaking, and I think it's one everyone should consider reexamining

MY RATING? 7/10

PS: The poster for this film has to be one of my favorite posters of the past five years!

I heard terrible reviews about this film, did not see it for some time, and finally got around to watching it, and found much entertainment in this film, in addition to a much darker 'future' world than we see in many future films